Don’t worry folks. I’m alive. I know a lot of you thought I’d jump off a bridge after the Knicks chose not to go after a point guard in the draft, but you know what? I’m not upset at the pick. Danilo Gallinari wasn’t my first choice but he was picked and nothing I can say is going to bring DJ Augustin to the Knicks. But before I completely immerse myself in the Knicks’ offseason plans, I have to talk about the draft itself.

The first two picks were as predictable as they could be. In fact, Andy Katz reported that the Bulls would take Derrick Rose with the first pick well before the draft had already begun. With that out of the way, the first surprise of the night was Russell Westbrook going to Seattle. After that, the draft went as everyone thought it would. Guys like Jason Thompson from Rider were taken too high. Guys like Darrell Arthur from Kansas fell too low. You had feel good stories, like the Lopez twins. You had head-scratching picks, like Seattle taking Serge Ibaka from Congo, who basically said don’t draft me… I’m staying in Spain. What was Seattle thinking on that one? Thats a wasted pick, I don’t care if they had six of them.

Now, as far as the Knicks are concerned, the motivation here is to make this Knicks team appealing for Lebron James, Chris Bosh,or Dwayne Wade. Thats it in a nutshell. I didn’t agree with Danilo Gallinari for several reasons.

1) He can score, but can he defend? His dad was known as a defensive player in Italy, but thats no indication of Danilo’s game.

2) He can fit into D’Antoni’s system but when will he play? If he plays small forward, there’s also Quentin Richardson and Renaldo Balkman to share time with. He can cause matchup problems if he plays power forward but they already have Zach Randolph and David Lee. I’ve heard rumblings of his ability to play some guard. If thats the case, he’ll have to share minutes with Jamal Crawford.

3) Like so many others have said, this is a big risk because Gallinari can blossom into an MVP like Dirk Nowitzki or be a dud like Frederick Weis. At this point, all we as Knicks fans know is that he’s a guy they called “Cock” in Italy. Wonderful.

As we speak, there are rumors that the Knicks are pursuing Chris Duhon. Personally, I like the idea. He’s a hard worker, he plays defense, he hustles, and he’s talented. What the Knicks have to do is avoid over-paying him like they’ve done with all their over free agents in the past.

Clearing up cap space is pretty important at this point, and with Lebron James’ recent comments about New York, the Knicks should have a sense of urgency. However. its not just about cap space with Lebron. He wants to win multiple championships. And when it comes down to it, cap space and friendship isn’t going to be enough to lure Lebron James away from Cleveland. For everyone in Brooklyn, calm down. Jay-Z is only a part owner of the Nets. He has no influence over day to day operations in the front office.

With everyone worried about the summer of 20010, how can we overlook this summer? Gilbert Arenas has come out and pretty much said he wouldn’t re-sign with the Wizards if they hadn’t brought back Antawn Jamison. That not only shows a new trend in the NBA with players opting for team chemistry over more money, but it also shows the committment Arenas is showing to his teammates and organization. Elton Brand opted out of his deal but plans to re-sign with the Clippers. With Baron Davis possibly leaving the Warriors for the Clippers, it seems like more and players are more concerned with playing for a championship and for less money. The Celtics put together a championship team in one offseason because the players bought into a system and played well in that system. The Clippers with Baron Davis could be an interesting team to watch next season.

As always, here are a few things around the sports world I’ve been thinking about.

– How can Gene Upshaw be serious about not even talking about lowering rookie salaries? How can it help player morale to know that a guy who’s never stepped foot on the football field can make more than a guy who’s paid his dues and earned his paychecks. Since Upshaw is a former player, he should understand. Rookies making $30 million is absolutely ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong. I think NFL players get the raw end of the deal, but I’m all about earning the cash.

– If I were Shawn Chacon, I’d cut my losses and really try to play somewhere else. He threw the GM to the ground. Its hard to see who else would pick him up.

– Ron Artest regrets not opting out. I wasn’t aware that he couldn’t change his mind and opt out. Regardless, he’ll probably be traded between now and February.

– Baron Davis has officially signed with the Clippers. An impact point guard, a very good power forward, a sensational rookie shooting guard… I like the Clippers next season. I don’t know if they’ll challenge the Lakers but they’ll make it interesting in the Western Conference.

– Manny Pacquiao beat David Diaz over the weekend, put him in strong consideration for one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing. I’d like to see him face the winner of Marquez vs. Casamayor.
Any comments or questions? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com

Game 6 NBA Diary
When the Knicks played the Spurs in the 98-99 NBA Finals, I was at the barbershop getting a haircut during Game 5. Subsequently, it wasn’t my best haircut. Tonight, without even realizing the error in ways, I ended up at the barbershop once again during a Finals clinching game. Luckily for me, I was done by the end of the first quarter. No drama, no bad haircuts. Its just too bad that this NBA diary begins several minutes into the second quarter. Before I begin, there are a few things I noticed while at the barbershop.

– Rajon Rondo is redeeming himself for Game 5. He’s got three steals already. He might just beat out Chris Mihm for T-Mobile Player of the Game. Oh yeah, and Robert Sarver? Remember when you traded the draft rights for Rondo to the Celtics for basically nothing? Joke’s on you, huh?

– Holy crap, its Big Baby Davis. Doc Rivers never ceases to amaze me with his rotations.

– Did Kobe make a bet with someone that he could outscore his teammates in the first quarter of every game?

9:55pm- James Posey just hit an open three to take a six point lead. And then a steal, followed by another three from Eddie House. Maybe defense really does win championships.

10:00pm- Ray Allen is still in the locker room after getting poked in the eye. Oh wait, here he comes. Is this going to be another Willis Reed comparison?

10:02pm- How am I supposed to find the balance between watching this great game and watching The Office on TBS? More or less importantly, I want to order chinese food before halftime but I dont know what I want.

10:14pm- Kobe just split the defense and kicked it out to a semi-wide open Jordan Farmar, who eventually turned it over. He may not be back after halftime

10:16pm- Personally, I like the Celtics’ chances tonight. Dick Bavetta isn’t calling the game so at the very least, it’ll be a decisive win with no conspiracies.

10:19pm- Halftime stats. Celtics have a 23 point lead. Paul Pierce is insanely close to a triple double. And I think Mike Breen has mentioned Ray Allen’s kid like 10 times already. Mike, we get it. Its on his mind. Side note: I sometimes wonder what players think about on the free throw line.
10:29pm- Crabmeat fried rice with fried crabsticks. Yeah, I know. I like crab.

10:44pm- According to Mike Breen, the Lakers might not be able to come back because “it can be so deflating, especially when the crowd is so loud”. Thats some damn good analysis.

10:48pm- This game is over. It really is. It feels like the Celtics just want it more. And I know that sounds so cliche, but they’re playing like the world is going to end tomorrow. And Ray Allen just hit a wide open three after a steal by Rondo. Come on. Seriously?

10:56pm- So far this game, outside of Kobe’s 3 3-pointers in the first quarter, I haven’t seen Black Mamba check in.

11:01pm- As much as I hate the city of Boston, you have to give it to them. Chanting MVP while Paul Pierce is shooting free throws is sort of a double entendre. Not only are they saying that Paul Pierce is worthy of the NBA Finals MVP award, but in a way they’re mocking the Lakers crowd, who obviously don’t understand the rules of chanting “MVP”.

11:03pm- By the way, I did pick the Lakers to win this series. I admit it. I was wrong about the Celtics. But could you blame me? The Celtics were barely winning games against Atlanta and Cleveland. However, I’m going to go with my original preseason pick. Yes, thats right. Before the season started, I picked the Celtics to win the title. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad Boston is about to win. Kevin Garnett deserves a title. Paul Pierce and his 11 stab wounds deserve a title. Ray Allen a.k.a Jesus Shuttlesworth deserves a ring. How else is Denzel going to be able to get out of jail early in “He Got Game 2: Papa’s Coming Home”??

11:11pm- God I can’t wait for this game to end so I can start hating the entire New England area again.

11:17pm- You know a game is over when Trevor Ariza is in the game in the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals.

11:19pm- T-Mobile Player of the Game? You guessed it. Chris Mihm. On a more serious note: Its Rajon Rondo. But wouldn’t it be funny if Chris Mihm was a choice?

11:29pm- I cant even think of anything funny to say right now. I might as well just stop now and start studying for my test tomorrow.

11:31pm- The Celtics just broke the record for most steals in an NBA Finals game. Next up, the record for most lop-sided victory. That record is 42 points. The Celtics are currently up by 36. Ray Allen also just tied the record for most three pointers in an NBA Finals game at 7.

11:39pm- Thats a damn good “Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye” from the Boston crowd. In unison, loud, and clear. Kudos to them.

11:49pm- They might be able to break the point differential record right here… never mind.

11:51pm- Was that the first ever NBA Gatorade bath? Now that floor is going to be sticky. And I don’t know if that huge circle mop is gonna do the job.

11:55pm- I knew Garnett was going to cry.

11:58pm- Apparenty, Kevin Garnett thinks that anything’s possible.

So, now that the Celtics have finally won it, I can go back to hating the entire city of Boston. But first, I have to say that there aren’t too many people in sports that I can say deserve a championship more than Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Three men that anyone can say they truly admire in sports. They give everything they have to their teams. When Kevin Garnett was trying year after year to get out of the first round, he stayed loyal to his organization. To this day, as we just saw, he holds Minnesota in high regard. Ray Allen would probably have never left Milwaukee if he hadn’t been traded and he’s always been a loyal, respectable guy. Paul Pierce stuck around in Boston when he could have left several times. And how about Doc Rivers going from lame duck coach to NBA champ.

As a Knicks fan, there’s so much to hate about this Boston team. PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, the city of Boston itself, and in some cases… the color green. Thats right. I said it. That city makes me hate the color green. However, for the very limited time span involving the NBA Playoffs, I put aside my hate for everything New England related and rooted for the Celtics. Not because I don’t like Kobe. Not because I don’t think Phil Jackson is that great of a coach. (Side note: I think he’s a hell of a coach and I think Red Auerbach was wrong to say that Phil Jackson has always had great players to win him championships. Red Auerbach may be a legend, but he’s wrong. The way I see it, Red had as many good players as Jackson had, if not more.) My reasons for wanting the Celtics to win this year goes beyond words. Primal screams are necessary to explain my thoughts on it. When Kevin Garnett screamed at the top of his lungs, thats what I wanted them to win for. When Doc Rivers was doused in Gatorade, thats what I wanted them to win for. When Paul Pierce held that trophy up for the crowd, thats what I wanted them to win for. The Celtics winning the championship not only solidified the careers of three hardworking individuals, but it also shows that there’s something to be said about sacrificing and winning as a team.

As always, here are a few things going around the sports world that have piqued my interest.

– Pacman Jones doesn’t want to be called “Pacman” anymore. Instead he wants to be called by his given name, Adam. Personally, I’d have picked a better video game character. “Niko Bellic” Jones, anyone?

– How about George Martin walking across the country for 9/11 workers… what a guy.

– How about that new Giambi mustache. He looks like the second coming of John Holmes. No pun intended.

– To all the people that thought the Mets were finished because they were four games under .500 and seven games back in the division, I say to you… eat it. The Mets have won three of their last four games and are about to start a series against the worst team in baseball. Oh yeah, and they’re three and a half games back in the division. Its never over til its over.

– In a new mock draft, Chad Ford has the Knicks taking Russell Westbrook from UCLA… over DJ Augustin. I don’t see it, but hey, thats why he’s Chad Ford and I’m not. Furthermore, I don’t think I’ll be doing a mock draft this year. It gets harder and harder every year with stupid general managers, trades, and international players.

– Although its incredibly old news, as a Mets fan I have to throw in my two cents on the firing of Willie Randolph. First off, I dont think he should have been fired due to the fact that he’s had to deal with injuries and a short bench. He’s also had to deal with the pressure of a front office that doesn’t support him and a general manager willing to throw him under the bus at any given moment. In my opinion, its as much the players fault, and its as much Omar Minaya’s fault, as it is Willie’s. If you give your manager a 41 year old outfielder with a history of injuries, what are you expecting to happen. When you give an overrated second baseman a 4 year deal on the downside of his career, what do you expect to happen? I’ve said this time and time again. I think Omar Minaya feels that he missed out on winning a championship with the 1994 Expos and trying to bring back as many of those guys as possible. Don’t be surprised to see Rondell White in a Mets uniform. Don’t believe me? Then why are there two members of the ’94 Expos on this current Mets roster? As if Cliff Floyd has stayed, there would be three. Also, take into consideration that managers don’t play the games. It wasn’t Willie that made Billy Wagner blow those three saves. It wasn’t Willie that made all those errors. It wasn’t even Willie that signed all these washed up veterans. The point is that firing him was a bad idea, and it makes the Mets front office look stupid for firing him on a road trip… after a win. If you wanted to fire him after the 2006 NLCS (when Beltran didn’t even swing), then do it. If you wanted him gone after the collapse last season, pull the trigger. If you wanted to fire him before they went on the road trip, go right ahead. But don’t fire the guy at 3am in the hotel after his team beat a very good offensive team.

Any questions or comments, email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com

Here’s a quick disclaimer:

To Laker fans, get down from that ledge. Don’t be so shocked. The Celtics are actually not that bad. That is to say, they’re damn good. But remember, they’ve been here before… against the Hawks… and the Cavaliers. So calm down. You have the current MVP and he hasn’t shifted into “I’m going to kill everyone on this team if we don’t win” mode.

To Celtic fans, calm the hell down. Remember Atlanta and Cleveland. I’m not saying luck had a lot to do with it but you guys are damn lucky to have home court advantage with that atrocious playoff road record. These next three games are the real test.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can begin. Obviously, unless you’re suffering a power outage too, the Celtics have gone up by two games against the Lakers. I said the Lakers would win in seven games and I stand by that statement. The Lakers are (usually) a deeper team and have more offensive weapons for the Celtics to deal with. However, you wouldn’t know it by the last two games. Kobe simply isn’t Kobe, and no one else is really stepping up. Pau has taken a step back and is having trouble dealing with KG. The Celtics bench has come alive and their younger players are playing like seasoned vets. Leon Powe’s Game 2 performance has to go down as one of the most efficient NBA Finals games for an under-25 player. 21 points and 2 rebounds (6-7 shooting, 9-13FT) in only 15 minutes. If he can keep that up, my prediction’s going to be wrong. The one knock on the Celtics is Doc Rivers. I still don’t think he can manage a rotation well. Sam Cassell did absolutely nothing in six minutes and there was no reason for Rajon Rondo to play 42 minutes when you have Eddie House and Tony Allen on the bench. And with PJ Brown being as old as he is, why not give “Big Baby” Davis some run, especially when you’re up by more than 15?? PJ Brown is one of the oldest players in the league at 38 and he contributed six points and three boards in 23 minutes.

Another thing I’ve noticed and everyone else should have is the difference in foul shooting. How could David Stern sit there and watch the Celtics take 28 more free throws? Had the difference is foul shots not been so huge, Game 2 might have gone a different way. While I can’t really speculate on what might have happened, the Lakers only lost by six.

So now what happens? The Lakers go back home for three games… unless they get swept, then its actually two games. If the end of Game 2 was any indication, Kobe won’t show up… but I think Black Mamba might. I don’t know what he said to his teammates but it looked like it worked. Sasha Vujacic hit a three, then Vladimir Radmanovic made a steal and took five steps on his way to a dunk that cut the Celtics’ lead to four. Kobe hit a couple of clutch free throws to cut the lead to two after a Rajon Rondo missed jumper. Posey was fouled on the other end and calmly hit his free throws to extend the lead and eventually put away the game.

If the Lakers can play an entire game the way they played the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, this should be a hell of a series. History isn’t on their side, though. The Lakers have never come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals, and the Celtics are 7-0 all time when they lead 2-0 in the Finals.

Like I have done in the past blogs, here’s how I feel about a few things going on in the sports world.

– The Bears cut Cedric Benson. He’s had two DUIs in the past few months and its not like he ever made an impact on the field, so goodbye Benson, hello either Shaun Alexander or Matt Forte.

– Ken Stabler got arrested for a DUI too. Isn’t he a little old for things like this? I guess once a Raider, always a Raider.

– My guy Michael Strahan finally decided to call it quits. I’m happy for him. The 7-time Pro Bowler is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s fifth all-time in sacks, holds the single season record, and he won a championship. May he be as successful in all future endeavors as he was on the field.

– Terrell Owens was placed in the reasonable clause testing program for performance enhancing substances. Dude, this would all be averted if you would pick up your phone.

– Ken Griffey Jr has finally hit his 600th home run. One can only watch Griffey and wonder what he could have accomplished if he was always healthy.

– The Mets finished a series against the Giants and things were looking up. They had won 7 of their last 9. Then they got swept in a four game series to the Padres for the first time since 1990. The Padres. A team they should have and could have swept. But no. They got swept. Wanna know the scores? 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, and 8-6. History was made. Yeah, thats right. The first time a team has won 4 straight games by a score of 2-1. Obviously, the first 2-1 win wasn’t against the Mets, but if it had been, would you be surprised? That said, I still don’t think Willie Randolph should be fired. I think the baseball gods had something to do with this.

– In a recent wave of coaching changes, Flip Saunders was fired and Michael Curry was promoted, Vinny Del Negro is about to accept the Bulls coaching job, and Terry Porter is the new coach of the Suns. No love for Avery Johnson?

– Floyd Mayweather Jr has decided to hang up the gloves at 31. Is this just his way of going out on top or is he afraid of Oscar De La Hoya? Personally, I’d go with the latter. Do you really think he’d pass on making over $20 million? I mean, he doesn’t really need it, but more money is still more money.

– Kelly Pavlik beat the snot out of some Welshman in three rounds. Man he’s good.

– Now that the Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup, Dominik Hasek retired again. This time, I’m pretty sure he won’t be back.

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com